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Portugal's long-time talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was asked to walk off after he was shown a red card for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O'Shea in the second half of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier on Thursday night.
As a result of this, the 40-year-old is now in some serious danger of being banned for the first game of the World Cup if Portugal ends up qualifying for the tournament.
Speaking of the incident, Ronaldo had spun around, swinging his right elbow into the back of O’Shea’s back. This led to the referee issuing a red card but minutes later, it was upgraded to a red after a video review at the pitchside monitor, reports Hindustan Times.
Upon being sent off, Ronaldo curled his lips in a wry look as he walked off the field, being jeered and mocked by the Irish fans. He then stopped and looked at the fans, clapping his hands and raising two thumbs up in an apparent sarcastic gesture towards the crowd.
Speaking of the qualifying contest, Ireland ended up registering a surprise 2-0 win over Portugal.